JOSÉ MERCÉ at Barbican Hall in London

'[Merce] describes his own music as «Open Flamenco»… reaching a younger and more international audience [but not] straying too far from the music's traditional core.' The Guardian****

One of the most successful flamenco singers today returns to the Barbican to present his latest work ‘Ruido’ (Noise), a beautiful album filled with bulerias, tangos, alegrias, rumba and the art of solea, with breath-taking guitars, exquisite and passionate vocals from Mercé, and contemporary arrangements that take flamenco to a new level.

José Soto Soto, known internationally as José Mercé, was born in the flamenco quarter of Jerez de la Frontera in 1955. Great-grandson of Paco Luz and nephew of Manuel Soto ‘Sordera’, he adopted the name Mercé when as a young boy he sung in the choir of the town’s Basilica de La Merced.

His career started at the young age of 13, when he recorded his first album accompanied by the guitars of Luis Habichuela and Enrique Melchor, this led to performances with the Antonio Gades Company, international tours with the Spanish National Ballet and was featured in the iconic films by Carlos Saura, ‘Bodas de Sangre’ (Blood Wedding) in 1981 and Flamenco in 1995.

The 1998 album ‘Del Amanecer’, produced by Vicente Amigo, catapulted Mercé to an international level, gaining new audiences and a huge popularity that he has maintained with a total of 17 records to his name, performing and recording with some of flamenco’s finest artists and consistently developing his own sound while keeping the soul of flamenco.

Thursday 25 th November, Doors open: 7pm
Barbican Hall
Silk Street
Londres EC2Y 8DS
Tickets: www.barbican.org.uk (£15- £30)